playful design for happy homes

Tag: 2016

Before Christmas, I went through a bit of a “lull” and decided to kick hesperoo, and myself up the bum! I took stock and decided to approach 2016 by eliminating all the things I did not want to do anymore (or the things that weren’t doing me any favours) and focus on what does work and what I enjoy. I started to envision a clearer idea of where I wanted Hesperoo to be and could actually start to see a clear path between the here and there forming, rather than feeling stuck, frantically peddling away but not actually getting anywhere.

When my daughter Hesper was born I learned how to make dolls and toys and I loved doodling little characters and faces for possible projects, dreaming up names and accessories for these never-made dolls. I always thought that one day I would get back into making these dolls and integrate them alongside all the other products I was churning out. What I soon realised is that this should be my new focus. So over Christmas, I got my iPad out and started creating digital characters, drawing inspiration from the many doodles/ideas I’ve squirrelled away over the years! I now have a few designs ready for my new products of 2016 which I’m really excited about! They will be printed onto fabric, which I will cut, sew and stuff into decorative cushions. Fingers crossed, I’ll be adding co-ordinated products in the future..

The image above is of my first “Sleep Tight” character (I think they will all get names eventually!) printed as a fabric sample, which I impatiently sewed up to get an idea of how it would look as a cushion. Here are the others…can’t wait to see them as cushions!

Hello….thank you for finding me! Having abandoned my previous blog for over a year and with a “re-launch” of my new designs and products coming soon, I decided to start blogging afresh over here!

To introduce myself, my name is Hannah and I live in village in Northamptonshire UK, with my partner Chris and our daughter the real Hesper Roo! I design, make and sell original textiles and homewares which I sell on Etsy here.

I began screen-printing children clothes during my maternity leave nearly six years ago, and gradually extended this to cushions, lampshades, t-towels and began including vintage wares and painted furniture to the collection. As my time and finances were so limited being at home with a pre-school child, I’ve taken a few turns with Hesperoo over the years as I’ve tried to figure out what I like making and what works for me. As 2015 ended, I felt disheartened with how things were going and I asked myself ” if you were starting this from scratch today, what would you do?” This took me back to why I started Hesperoo in the first place. It’s named after my daughter because it was having her that got me making toys, clothes and things for her room, which I love doing. I always envisioned it having a fun, modern approach but in trying different things, the focus got lost. So, going back to the beginning, I’m approaching 2016 by eliminating the things that don’t work for me. I’ve been creating playful digital designs, taken from my many scraps of doodles and trying to find the joy in what I do, which I hope will be reflected in my work!

It can sometimes feel with social media, that other people have brilliant ideas that birth into successful businesses in a matter of months, whilst it takes some of us a lot longer to figure it out. Connecting with people on Instagram, it is comforting to know that I’m not the only one who has been constrained by family circumstances, finances and I suppose, myself. To get to there I want to be, I feel that I need a much clearer path, to choose a product or style I am happy with it and really focus on doing that well…work smarter not harder!

I’d love to hear from anyone else about the path you’ve taken to find where you need to be creatively…please get in touch with me here or on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (@hesperoo)